Shareholders’ meeting of the Zug Cantonal Bank

3,000 shareholders attended the Shareholders’ Meeting of the Zug Cantonal Bank yesterday in the Bossard Arena. This meeting has turned into a really popular local event.
 
No sooner had Bank President Bruno Bonati said the last words of his closing speech, the first chairs were already being tidied away in the Bossard Arena. After all, there had to be room for the aperitif for the 3,000 guests. The 400 employees of Zug Cantonal Bank had their hands full trying to clear the Zug Ice Hockey Hall.
 
The 140th General Assembly of the Zug Cantonal Bank was again a popular event this year. Thanks to the large number of attending shareholders -  3,000 visitors in all - this General Meeting is one of the largest assemblies throughout Switzerland. Fittingly, the guest list included high-ranking representatives from politics and business. Among others, Bruno Bonati welcomed the Zug councillors Joachim Eder and Peter Hegglin as guests. SVP National councillor Thomas Aeschi, Cantonal President Moritz Schmid, the Zug councillors Heinz Tännler, Martin Pfister, Matthias Michel and Stephan Schleiss and government councillor Manuela Weichelt were also among those present.
 
The Zug Cantonal Bank can look back on a challenging year. "The low interest rates created an erosion between interest on assets and liabilities," stated Bonati. This interest margin, which is very important for the Zug Cantonal Bank, has reduced from year to year. "In recent years, the Zug CB has been able to largely offset this decline through a growth in loans," said Bonati. This has been helped by the dynamic development of the property market, and this growth is likely to slow only marginally in 2016. "Under these conditions, we are confident that we can expand our business activities in the current year." Another factor is the negative interest, which the Swiss National Bank has set at -0.75 percent. "This could remain the situation for some time yet," predicted Bonati. Above a certain threshold. the Zug Cantonal Bank has to pay negative interest on their balances. The Zug CB remained below this exemption limit in 2015, however. "Through active balance sheet management, we were able to largely offset the negative effects without increasing the risk of a change in interest rate. We are striving to maintain this margin in the current year," said Bonati.
 
Overall however, Bonati was able to give the shareholders positive messages. The equity figures in particular were of great interest. "The positive annual result has allowed us to increase our shareholders' equity by CHF 58 million, to CHF 1.16 billion. A healthy equity base is the foundation of our business and customer confidence," said Bonati.
 
The financial statements were approved by the General Assembly, and the shareholders expressed their confidence in the bank's management. The appropriation of net income for a dividend of CHF 175 per share was also approved, together with all other agenda items. Carla Tschümperlin and Bruno Bonati were elected to the Compensation Committee for another year, and Gabriela Grimm Zwicky, an attorney in Zug, was elected as the voting rights proxy.
 
"We want to take the necessary steps to ensure that we continue to have a strong bank in Zug," said the Zug councillor Heinz Tännler in his greeting to the shareholders. The fact that Zug has such a strong cantonal bank is ultimately thanks to the policies followed over recent years. "The current policy makers must ensure that this remains the case", summarized Tännler.